When Love Hurts
by Perfect butterfly blade
Summary: PostHPB OOC DMHG no fluff R&R PLEASE! The dark lord has an heir and after failing his mission Draco is given another with consequences should he fail. Seduce the mudblood or your mother dies. Will he ruin his chances with the one he loves for his family?
1. Home

**Love Hurts**

Evil was abundant these days it seemed like it was all-around like the thick lingering fog that shrouded the large and now very cold castle. Harry's scar burned as the dark mark was etched onto another death eater's skin but the next dark mark he did not feel, this was the mark of the apprentice to the dark lord. Tonight he would be branded into his fate like a cow branded to its slaughter and The Golden Trio nor the world outside their obsessive cult would be any the wiser. Knowing there was someone they should fear more than fear itself, instead the attack would creep until it would suddenly become a plague that no law could contain. Numbers and power was growing in dark places.

There was only one flaw in the plan. Yes there was a flaw. Evil did not know all and neither did good. None the wiser they never knew that the fate of the world lay on the shoulder of two unfortunate people. Neither did they know it because they were from two sides so different and still in a strange way so similar. Their chemistry was electric but nobody could see what lay right in front of their faces. Two pieces of a puzzle that would take her brains and his cunning to solve.

Harry sat up quickly from his sleep hitting his already burning scar on the bunk bed above him belonging to the one and only Ron who was snoring loudly ignorant of the discomfort of his room mate below him. Harry mumbled incoherent curses below his breath his conscience telling him to keep his temper that was bubbling below the surface. This was not going to be a good day for him, he had decided at the obvious unfortunate incident that had occurred at his awakening. He threw his legs over the side hitting his head once more at the side. He shut his eyes and counted to ten debating in his mind if he should or should not get up. He was still tired after another late night, though he should get out of bed, breakfast did smell welcoming and he did as always have a full day.

Hermione busied herself around the kitchen waving her wand to help with cooking, dishes and setting the table. It was now seventh year and she was now 17, allowed to practice magic outside school grounds along with apparating and other privileges that came with being an adult. Her parents being successful dentists the both of them they were happy to help when their child asked for independence. Her mother had cried and hugged her so tightly when they were piling all of her stuff and the new furniture her parents had supplied into her cream unit in Hogsmede, while her father just held a watery smile continuing to tell her how proud they were by the strong, smart and brave woman she had become. Harry and Ron shared one of the three bedrooms in her large apartment. She was busy making breakfast when a groggy an obviously unhappy Harry slunk through the door and trudged to the table and grunted at Hermione his Hello. He unlike her was never a morning person. She plated his breakfast as quiet as she could before sending the pan and other dirty dishes to be washed. She put the food on the table as Ron began sniffing near the door automatically attracted to the smell of food. They all amazingly ate a quiet breakfast unusual for the boys normally chattered about qudditch madly while Hermione read a book over her breakfast.

"Bad night Harry?" Hermione finally inquired breaking the tension between all three of them. He gave her a look simply saying don't wanna talk about it. Once again tension built in the silence that followed that no one else dared to break. She was dazed and confused at his brut and prompt dismissal and rejection of her. This very unaccustomed of Harry and she did not know how to handle him in this grumpy and sullen manner.

Harry was very quiet today Ron had noticed. He had heard him slide out of bed the night before as he had drifted off like a piece of wood from a sinking pirate ship at sea to his slumber, having been awoken by Harry's moaning and grumbling and sudden disappearance. He would never question Harry, not a chance. That did not mean he did not love Harry who was akin to his many brothers and a long time crush of his younger sister though both of them knowing the danger of having a relationship had decided wisely against it insisting that there could be no weakness to be used against Harry. But his late nights had worried the ever young and sometimes too innocent but wicked for his own good Weasley, he was tempted to follow but he could take his invisibility cloak and it was cold and he was tired so mostly he stayed in bed out of the mischief that his now distant best friend who was sitting his mind always running, over the table from the fiery red hair of his always devoted, brave and trustworthy friend.

Through his own insanity Harry could see his friend's faith in him depleting and any source of hope in him ran as dry as the deserts of Antarctica. And his nights just as dark and cold with only the Aurora Borealis to light the way the small glimmer of lights in the sky always to far away to touch and never really enough to see beyond his hands. He knew he had only himself to blame for the stress placed upon his own head. He wished that there was something he could say or do to change the mind of his friends whom normally are as loyal as a Saint Bernard, minus the barrel of whiskey around the neck of course. Wallowing in his own depression he could see no help, and being the famous Harry Potter he was too proud to ask for help. And without Dumbledore around and living in Hogsmede life was more dangerous than it had been seventeen years previously when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named a.ka Voldermort had first fallen from power as now, and Potter knew it, his ranks had increased as had the power amongst the new recruits.

Hermione was perplexed by the facial expression worn by one both of her two closest friends. Ron obviously did not get as much sleep as he pretended and if Harry thought she had not noticed him coming and going all hours of the night. She wanted to ask him what he was doing but knew it was in her best interest not to pry. Besides she was so busy with S.P.E.W and trying to keep up her studies along with bills and rent and working her life was crazier than it had ever been. Even the years at Hogwarts did not compare to the year she knew would lie ahead of her. Power was mounting and she knew it. She was more scared than she had ever been too. Harry was not the man he used to be either. Hermione could see the cloud of darkness and depression shrouding Harry and was perplexed at what to do about it. She wanted to reach out and hold him comfort him somehow but never really knew where to start. They ate their breakfast drudgingly in complete silence, Hermione pushing her food around her plate feeling her appetite suppressed further with every passing minute. She drummed her bored and once idle fingers against the dark wood of their dining table where, with her constant insisting they ate all of their meals. It would just be another day to her. She had now formed a system in which she took every day at a time knowing that each day would find her in some new uncomfortable situation but she didn't know just how uncomfortable today's events would make her.

Ron felt like smacking Harry over the back over the head hoping he would get a head ache just as bad as his own due to the sleep that was robbed of him and the sleepless hours spent staring at the ceiling hoping his friend would return to him but when he woke in the morning after a bare amount of sleep, Harry was fast asleep in his bed. This obviously disgruntled him even further. Ron could sleep through a hurricane so he knew that if he had fallen asleep he would not wake at his friend's arrival and he didn't. Harry had slipped as quite as possible as the quiet of the god forsaken hour of his return would allow him, even though Harry knew as well as Ron did that his friend would not wake up and only prayed that he was asleep. Ron knew that Harry had hit his head hard and it took everything he could muster not to laugh over the breakfast table at his unfortunate friend. He loved Harry to bits, it didn't mean he always liked him but there was no doubt in his mind how much he trusted him. A lot.

Harry knew something was wrong due to the lack of conversation. Hermione now stared at her plate like it was going to grow a mouth and teeth and eat her instead. Her lack of appetite really seemed to worry Harry sometimes. She was so thin and pale that it worried him to no end at times and when she gave food the look she was giving her plate right now. He knew her mind was far away in thought as her intelligent mind tended to do when there was something serious to think about and she was good at sensing problems. He just hoped he wouldn't figure out his secret just like she was hoping he would not find out hers. He also hoped that the look he reserved for her food would never be sent in his direction. When living at Hogwarts she had been so happy and so very healthy but now since the murder of Dumbledore and the accusation of Draco Malfoy she had not been herself. The house elves had cooked her food and despite protesting at first about it, in the end she would still eat but now even when she cooks for herself and also her two best friends she would simply push around her plate, take a few bites here and there and finally either put it away for later picking or throw it away completely disgusted by the meal on her plate. Sometimes she would take a whole day to eat an entire plate of food. Not only was she hardly eating but there were other things since the end of 6th year and the beginning of now her 7th year that she no longer did. Like reading, famous for curling up in front of the fire with a large book hiding her face, she sat like a couch potato in front of the television bought for her by her parents, sometimes looking at a black screen and other times watching the mindless dribble without saying much. That was another thing; she had not really spoken much in months. When we had moved in together she had been so happy but now she was distant and this worried Harry. Then a plan formed itself in his mind.

Ron was worried at the look on both of his friend's faces. Hermione had looked the same for a while now, with moments of happiness like a handful of confetti thrown over a cliff. As soon as the wind picked it up it was gone before you can grab it back and hold onto it. As much as he loved Hermione he knew that she could never love him in the way he felt for her. He wanted to help her so badly but he knew that he could never provide her with what she needed as well as he knew that he would never be with her. Harry on the other hand had a sadistic smile that worried him beyond belief and he hoped that his face did not betray how he felt inside.

Hermione snapped out of her revere and looked at her two friends who were both acting very strange, Harry looked like Voldermort on happy gas and Ron... Ron just looked constipated. Then again when didn't Ron look constipated, the amount of food that boy ate it didn't surprise her. She looked at her food once more and lifted a fork to her lips before picking up her plate in silence, emptying the contents into the bin and washed her dishes before sitting back in front of the television to watch her DVD's of Desperate Housewives again.


	2. The Gates of Elysium

Love Hurts

Chapter Two:

School without Dumbledore was hard to imagine, in fact Harry hated the thought more than he hated Voldermort. Dumbledore was like a father that Harry had never really had the chance to experience. He tried hard to swallow the sour lump of bile that stung his throat and made his eyes water against the hard wind.

The Golden trio didn't seem so golden fighting the wind to make their way to their dreary lessons in the now unsafe castle. The last six years had obviously only just taken its toll on the three youths who look dishelmed and very pissed off. Every student in the class turned and stared at the late bunch as they entered and most Slytherins now minus the great Draco Malfoy as he was on the run though obviously innocent, In a Slytherins point of view and strange enough also in Hermione's, snickered at their untidy entrance and their hung heads as they made their way to their now separate seats all the while, even more unusual, not saying a word to either of their "friends" beside them.

Hermione was worried about Harry, he was skinny and pale and his hair normally a cute disshelved now looked unwashed and the bags under his eyes though he tried to hide them with magic was painfully obvious for her. She slipped her headphones out of her ears and put her small X-Logic mp3 player in her bag and pulled out her books grudgingly. She didn't know when she had lost her passion for books but she had and it depressed her almost as much as Harry's current condition did. When her book was propped up in front of her face she brushed away the small tears from her face which had been hidden by her bushy hair. Why was it every time she stepped into Hogwarts her heart broke a little more and longed for the days when life was nothing but a mystery, when she didn't understand? She now knew why ignorance was bliss and wished for the ignorance denied to her thanks to her "friends" whom she now thought if she had never met perhaps the situation would never have occurred. She now loathed them and their company at times and preferred to keep to herself for fear of getting hurt again. She didn't want to get hurt again. She couldn't, she wouldn't. Draco, she swore was the very last person she had allowed to break her trust.

Ron wondered when his friends had become so odd. He didn't remember Harry being so reserved and he didn't remember the ever annoying, know it all named Hermione being quiet and he has never remembered a time when they had ever sat apart. He bored as a button stared blankly at the teacher until the lesson was over and followed his quiet friends until without even saying goodbye they went their separate ways, Hermione going to one of her other classes and Harry and Ron, both in the same class left for theirs. Along the way Harry did not say a word to Ron and this freaked him out a little bit. Since when did he not know what to say to his friend?

Hermione had no intention of heading to her next class, she could use the time turner and go later, she wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway, she always had too much on her mind, and she wished it to be blank. She climbed up all the stairs to the top of the castle but not making her way to the astronomy tower, wishing all the while that this school would invest in either lifts of escalators. She counted the doors with the old children's game, my mother told me to count to ten and then she said count back again, when she opened the door she did not expect what she was about to see.

Harry was in his own world again, maybe he was dreaming, perhaps he was hallucinating but he could have sworn he saw Hermione head the opposite direction of her class and up the stairs. If he didn't have a class with Ron he would have followed her to see what she was up to. There was something seriously wrong with that girl. Then again they were all keeping secrets from each other weren't they? He could not trust anyone anymore, not even the two who were his best friends. This to Harry was not devastating but it was indeed unsettling, he also had come to expect it. Trust was a luxury his kind were rarely afforded.

Bang, "ow fuck," Hermione muttered as her foot collided with something very solid and then jumped almost sky high as it gave a groan in response. The room was pitch black which did not bother Hermione as she was used to the darkness. She lit her wand with a lumos charm and bent down over the figure of the only boy she had really loved. The one who had broken her trust along with her heart. Draco Malfoy. When she realized that she loved him she didn't know. All she knew was that she did and that was all there was too it. Before she could say anything he took her time turner, the only one left now that all the ones in the ministry had been destroyed and others had been confiscated and tracked down. Hers, being Mc Gonagall's was never found, he turned it in his hand taking her back in time with him.

Why was Harry scowling so much? Ron looked at his friend and felt sick inside at the thought of the golden trio finally falling apart, Hermione was distant and depressed and Harry was just odd. He couldn't describe his massive change except for that he was no longer the happy, eager and smart wizard he had known and cherished since first year when he had chosen to be friends with him instead of with the slimy git Malfoy. He knew Malfoy was trouble, he also knew the path that Harry would have walked down had he chosen the disgusting Slytherin over him. He shuddered at the thought of Harry on the side of He-Who Must Not Be Named and the evil that and darkness that would have followed, an all the adventures he would have missed out on. He was feeling nostalgic and despite his tough guy exterior he couldn't help the sting of tears behind his eyes. He was not the type of person to cry easy and he knew inside that it would have to be him to fix the relationship between the three. Harry was too preoccupied and Hermione, stubborn, sweet, level headed Hermione was too wrapped up in her own world to see beyond her own face. He could not hold that against her though. She couldn't help that he really loved her with every fiber of his being, but he also knew that the one he loved was the one girl he could never really have. He knew that love hurts and the worst part was that you could never control who you fell for and you never knew when it would hit.

Hermione was shocked at what she was seeing, she was in the astronomy tower and there was Dumbledore speaking. Also in the room were Draco and Snape. She ran to the past version of her lover and held him crying for the fate she could not change. At that exact moment she realized that she realized when she had fallen for him. The moment he could not kill the headmaster she had looked up to like a really old and smart parental position. Her heart pounced in her chest when she realized he could not see her. There must be something wrong with her time turner, he should be able to see her but somehow he was unable. She turned around to face the figure behind her. His face melted the hardness in her heart and broke down the walls she had built around since he had run away. As she turned she watched Snape murder everything she had ever believed in. Draco pulled her to him and hid her face into his chest to shield her from the horror in front of her eyes. She cried into his chest her heart breaking into a million pieces. She knew no one would be ale to know the love she had for Draco and so far they had only been friends, not even he was aware of her emotions. She could never have him and yet she wanted him so badly. She could never love anyone like she did him. She could never tell him, he would never feel the same.

Draco looked down at the girl trembling in his arms, her shoulders heaving heavy with tears, her bushy hair almost smothering him. She looked up into his eyes for a spilt second; they were brimmed with fresh tears. His heart was moving in leaps and bounds and he wanted to hold her to him for the rest of their natural lives. If only he had the courage right now to lean in and kiss her soft pink lips but before he could make a move she put her head back against his chest and he simply held her to him hoping she could not hear how fast his heart beat was going. How did she do that to him? How was it she had that effect, what was it about her that said everything without not saying a word? How is it he could see into her soul but he could not see into her heart? He was scared for the first time in his life; he was scared that he did not feel for him how he felt for her. He wanted to whisper it into her ear but now was not the time. He picked up her time turner and twisted it forwards to when they had left leaving the dying Dumbledore behind.

They both sat in silence on the floor Hermione's hands cupping Draco's face running her thumb over she cheeks which now seemed hollow with famine and he was also covered in dirt, his once fashionable and neatly tended to clothes in tatters alike to his and his family reputation. Hermione wondered if he knew of his mother and fathers fate. They had both been sent to Azkaban to receive the Dementor's kiss before serving a life sentence in the deepest dungeons of the wizarding prison never to see the light of day ever again. If they died no one would ever know as the person who serves meals and cleans their cells was a deaf mute with a hefty punch that could knock King Kong for six. She desperately wanted to take him an care for him but she knew that out in the world the same fate awaited him and she did not want that to happen to him. She looked up ion despair and that's when she saw the large golden doors lying behind the man in her arms.

"What is that and why are you in here with it?" she questioned now skeptical worried that she had betrayed more than she had ever imagined.

"The gates of Elysium, and I am guarding it." Was his simple answer. He did not tell her who had told him to guard the sacred place and she did not know what the gates of Elysium was doing in Hogwarts. She hoped to get answers but before she did there were other matters to attend to. She walked up to the doors and put her hand on the handle. The handle was like ice in her hand but she felt like she could not let go. She didn't want to let go. She was drawn to this door and its secrets, most importantly what lay beyond it. The afterlife. If she could not have Draco in life she would rather choose death. But how to draw him away from the gate. This would take all her brainpower to figure out but she was determined to find a way.


	3. Living In The Past

Love Hurts  
Chapter Three:

It was in the class she had skipped but not skipped (thanks to her time turner) that she formulated a plan to get Malfoy away from The gates of Elysium. It was obvious that he had barely eaten and was freezing from the cold nights alone and hiding in the castle. If she could get him out of the castle and into her apartment in Hogsmede she could help him while also getting closer to the pathway to the after life. At times she was scared of what would happen and other times she would hang her head coming to terms with the fate she was planning for herself.

She couldn't help that she had a thing for bad boys, she hadn't until fourth year when she had been with Krum and despite his rough exterior he was a sweet and gentle man with eyes only for her. She sighed audibly, getting a disgruntled look from her teacher, thinking of what it felt like to know that you were loved. Unfortunately she had not loved Krum in return only going with him to the yule ball to avoid going dateless or being a required date and not a wanted date. She had enjoyed Krums company but he was into her more than she was in him. Sure all the other girls swooned and he was gorgeous but she felt unsettled about the way he would look at her.

She had, had eyes for Malfoy for a fair while, she had in a strange way come to respect him at first. She had been forced to work with him by Snape and McGonagall as punishment for hexing one another, which funny enough had resulted in Draco with a fluffy pair of rabbit ears and a little ball of bunny tail fluff poking out the back of his pants, and herself with stilts for legs and hair that looked like something a hippogriff coughed up. There were other small things their hexes has done that popped up in the next six months that had kept them both entertained and gradually they broke through the enemy barricade. It was in fact when they had both turned up to their mediation punishment, Hermione resembling a plum and Draco a Pear and they had both made a jokes about fruit salad and cake and loops (draco not getting the last one) that they stopped seeing each other as deathly enemies.

Draco taught Hermoine to fight with her fists, laughing when she reminded him of when she decked him in third year, his reply was that it may have hurt but she didn't even break his nose let alone knock him out. After a while of practicing fighting with her hands she did K.O. him. An almost Rocky Balboa fight going down between them, her in the end being rocky of course. Eventually she became so good he could not beat her. He didn't let her know this though, he told her let her win but she knew better.

She taught him how to duel, alot of the useful various hexes causing hilarious results. They, under the cover of an invisibility cloak, would go pranking on people using hilarious hexes and various other factors so humorous they would run off laughing covering their mouths trying hard not to be heard in their hasty escape. They had pulled pranks that would have made Fred and George proud of them, even if it was Malfoy. He was a genius when it came to thinking of pranks. Together they had brewed a potion that turned Pansy into Cousin It for a week and a charm for Lavender and Pavarati that made them think they had Zits when they didn't.

They reached a point then of comrades and brothers in mischief, despite Hermoines female status. She had even taught Draco a few muggle tricks and he had watched and listened in admiration and awe. She didn't realize that he knew nothing about muggles but then realized how naive that was as he was from a family of strict muggle haters and anything even remotely muggle was an abomination of the wizarding kind. Even if there were more muggles than wizards, the pureblood like to think they were here first. Eventually they came to be closer to each other than the golden trio had been in its finest. Sometimes they would sneak under the protection of an invisibility cloak that they shared into each others rooms by secret passages. On these occasions to protect their secret Hermoine would steal Harry maunders map so they could not be discovered. Never would they become intimate. They had not even kissed except for a peck on the cheek as a show of appreciation of each other. They would lie together in bed until the sun came up swapping stories of their lives and divulging deep secrets they had never told another soul, eating goodies pinched from the kitchen and then when they became sleepy they would curl up together spooning with his arms around her and fall into a pleasant and nightmare free sleep. In fact they had the best nights sleep and always felt refreshed after a night spent having what would appear to be a girls night out together, despite Dracos male status.

Never would they let onto the other that they had wanted so badly to go further than the hugs and holding hands they had restricted themselves to out of fear of rejection from the other. Draco was too proud to admit that he felt this way about a mudblood. He felt as he did when he listened to music. Music was another secret passion of his that not even Hermoine knew about. No matter what kind it was be it hard grunge and heavy metal to classical compositions. Every note made his heart swell with emotion the harmonies and melodies breaking the rushing of emotion he felt. More often it was lyrics that got his soul even though it was the classical composer Beethoven that tortured his heart the most. He could hear the emotion the man put into his music and understood completely the perils and pain taken to write such masterpieces. He would sometimes lie in his own bed listening to Fur Elise and think of the similarities in Beethovens emotions for this beloved Elise that Draco had for Hermoine. He was a hopeless romantic a fact Hermione knew and she had giggled in reply that she too was a vicitm of romance.

Hermione fretted about breaking Dracos trust but she was determined if she could not live with the love of Draco she could not live. She was too gutless and weak to take any other method of suicide and had read alot on the gates Draco was guarding. It was the only way she would be able to be free of the binds of this world. How often had he held her in his arms as she cried and confided in him her hatred of this world and her longing to join the next. He had always soothed her by whispering in her ear.  
"If you were to do that I would too because I don't think i could live without your companionship," he had told her many times. He had never told her how he really felt. how devastated he felt and how he could not breathe if she was not in his world. Even if he could never hold her and love her like he wanted her to live and be happy. Little did he know that it was his heart that would make her the happiest.

It was when she was dwelling on her memories that she remembered the invisibility cloak that they shared. They had stored it in a closet so unused that even the spiders had left it spotless. After her class she made her way to the secret location of the cloak and snatched it putting it in her back pack for later usage. Then she remembered the small room that came off hers that the boys did not know about. She had cloaked it in spells so that only she could find the entrance as it was code worded. The boys were oblivious to its existence and she did not use it often anyway. She could use the fireplace to floo her friend in and out of the room and he would have adequate shelter food and warmth. It would also get him away from the gate and give her a chance to fulfill her plans. It was always worth a shot.

Draco was left stunned by Hermione. She had always been a great thing of beauty to him. Now she looked tired and thin. He felt terrible about having to go into hiding and not being able to tell her anything. He wished that over the time he had been able to send her an owl and explain but always he knew that this was impossible as all owls going to any of the golden trio would have been intercepted. He also felt guilty about putting a rift between her and her two friends. They may not have known about their secret friendship but she had slowly distanced herself from the two people one would imagine she was closest too. But no one knew about the pair of them sneaking off to be together. He had lost his heart to her. When he had held her close and had her sleeping in his arms he had never felt so content in his life but he found himself unable to relay his emotions with his mouth. To the one person he had told about his sick and twisted family. To the girl he had cried too when someone had been to harsh on him. He could not bring himself to look at another woman no matter how attractive she was. He would see her face as he daydreamed away some of the more boring classes where paying attention was not essential and he would look longingly at her in classes whilst still trying to be inconspicuous. He felt responsible for the decline in her looks and her obvious lack of interest in anything. He could see her eyes had lost the fire they had once held when she prattled on about this book or that potion. He would never forget how they had lit up when he had presented her with a television capable of working in the wizarding world. She had jumped up and down with joy at his memory because she herself had introduced him to it and it was a touching gift.

But it was the little things that Hermione liked and despite her parents large business profits from the dental clinic and that she was an only child her parents didn't spoil her too much and she didn't get everything she wanted. They were prepared to help her with a home and she learned to be self sufficient in return. That didn't mean she didn't love her family and they did keep in regular contact. So when someone did some thing big for her she was very appreciative for it and she had been very greatful for the present.

Once her classes for the day were done Hermoine slipped quietly away to where Draco lay in hiding. She watched behind her making sure she was not followed and slipped quietly into the dark room. What she missed was the shallow breathing and light foot steps following behind her under the protection of invisibility. Once she was inside the offending follower pressed his ear up to the door and listened.

"Lumos," Hermoine whispered lighting up her wand. She found draco asleep on the cold hard floor and her heart panged at his dishelved appearance. He was a Malfoy and she expected him to be to proud caught at such a moment of weakness. She tip-toed as quietly as she could to the door and put her hand on the handle and again it was like ice in her hand. She ran her fingers over the heavy metal of the wall. It would take a fair amount of strength to open this door and it would be quite noisy. Little did she know she was letting her last chance slip away.

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A/N:

Hey there I know I was going to work on I wanna grow old with you but I was coming up with this plot as I was finishing For You To Notice Me and I have really wanted to do it. It has a really interesting plot with alot of twists and turns... I will be working alot on this one but feel free to check out my favorites list I am going through and picking out ones that are really good or promising but as always good stories take time.

I am really sorry about my spelling, my keyboard is unreliable and i am not sure on the spelling of every thing but I have done my best to make it error free.

Hopefully the next chapter will give you a few more clues but then again it might leave you asking more questions...

I love my reviewers and any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is always more than welcome...

Much Love  
Perfect Butterfly Blade


	4. Part Of A Prophecy

Love Hurts

Chapter Four:

"There are pre-requisites for this position you understand," the slimy voice of Voldermort hissed to his young apprentice.

"Yes, Master anything to please you Dark Lord," The youth groveled.

" I have assigned Master Zabini here to you, he will undertake any dirty duties, as my heir, if ever I should fall that is, you should spend more time learning all the ways of the true wizarding ways and avoid getting your hands dirty at all costs," the dark lords voice would normally cause shivers to go up any normal persons spine but the young heir had grown so accustomed to it and the voice of the dark lord was no deterrent to him.

"How must we deal with the traitors father?" he questioned something that was rarely allowed in any circle of the death eaters but a luxury afforded only to the dark Lord's current favorite.

"We, my son have uses for those who betray us," Voldermort smiled his sickening smile only shown when he was thinking up something terrible. No one knew what was going on in the mad mind of the Dark Lord but when he smiled you knew he was thinking very sadistic thoughts.

"Lucius?" a torn and tattered Mrs Malfoy called meekly to her husband hoping the people guarding their two separate but side by side cells would not hear her and what she was about to tell her husband. She reached her hands through the cold metal bars reaching for the love of her life. He cried out when he saw her hands once beautiful and delicate now smattered with dried blood and many bruises.

"Yes, my love," he also reached his hands out also in a terrible condition for her. Despite popular belief Lucius and Narcissica were very much in love since their youth and had been overjoyed when they had learned of their arranged marriage. Together they had received their dark marks and at nights the now Mrs Malfoy worried about the whereabouts of her husband and the safety of his missions always praying that her husband would come home to her and smothering him with love when he arrived home safe and sound.

When the death eaters had raided their house after their sons failed mission her husband had protected her valiantly and had held her as she wept at the news of her sons disgrace. He had always sung her to sleep as she lay crying in her cell softly soothing her tormented soul. He also knew that his wife was an exceptional witch with many hidden talents. She did not need to know the dark arts for her secret abilities were powerful enough to dispel them. That didn't mean she had not learned and mastered the dark arts and was indeed a power that would become a worthy adversary against the Dark Lord.

"He is safe," she whispered in reply to her husband who in response squeezed her hand gently. The sense of foreboding that had haunted her in regards to her son had dispelled as if a foggy cloud had been lifted and she was rushed with relief at the news her abilities has provided her with. She quickly removed her hand from her husbands and moved back in her cell as a guard rounded the corner.

A shackled and very disheveled Mr and Mrs Malfoy were pushed into the room forced onto their knees, their normally snobbish air that normally followed them was non-exsistent. There were red welts and marks where the shackles detained them as well as fresh bruises and wounds from savage beatings handed down by the Death Eaters who saw them as the traitors that they were not. They had always been loyal to the dark lord but since their betrayal they had both reassessed their position and had agreed to do anything that would hinder the progress of the dark lord.

The young master circled the two Malfoys trying to work out their weakness but was finding it most difficult to find any as after years of training had become masters at hiding what they did not want to become common knowledge. He took his hand first to the lady, lucius stiffening trying to hide his love for his wife which is seen as weakness in the eyes of the death eaters but the heir saw immediately Lucius's weak point. He laughed sadistically as he beat once again into the delicate female. When he was finished he stepped back to admire his handiwork only to become enraged at the placid accepting smile on Narcissica's face.

"She knows something," the heir said to his minions, "take her away and find out what she knows, use any force necessary but do not kill her. Remember Dead Men Tell No Tales." two death eaters came up to Mrs Malfoy and took her away ignoring the look of worry plastered on Mr Malfoys face.

"We have a mission for you Mr. Malfoy," the evil apprentice hissed with glee, "We need to locate your son and we think that you know exactly where he is." Lucius shook his head violently, he had been lied to and betrayed by the death eaters, he would do anything in his power to save his son from the pain they would inflict upon him if he were found and despite popular belief he had no clue about the where about of his son. Little did he know his wife knew exactly where he was and the death eaters that had taken her away were at that very moment trying to extract that information from here. Little did they know that she was leading them on a wild goose chase and she would never reveal the location of her one and only child. Little did they all know he was not as far away as they had expected.

Hermoine walked around the dark room lit only by her wand inspecting the room for anything that may be of assistance. She stumbled upon a fireplace and a wooden desk and chair covered in papers she did not understand, despite her many skills with language and ability to learn quickly she could not understand the script in front of her. She let her hand linger along the dusty dirt and grime covered walls. Eventually once again she was drawn to the gates at the further end of the room. She ran her hands across it letting her hand fall once again on the handle.

"What exactly do you think your doing Granger?" Draco mumbled one eye half open watching the gryffindor floating around the room until she had migrated to the door and was now lingering with her hand on the handle. Hermoine jumped not expecting Draco to notice her in the dark room. Then again she imagined she would cast a shadow in comparison to the glowing golden gates.

"I thought you were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you so I thought I'd have a look around," was her curt reply.

"More like you were snooping around," he muttered causing her to go a deep shade of red. She rushed to his side as he groaned trying to get back on his feet propping her arms underneath him and lifting him slowly into a sitting position. He looked at her with gratitude trying to hide his awe of her. The way her fluffy brunette hair always managed to get in the way hiding the soft sun kissed look her skin had gradually built up over her youth spent full of adventure. Her eyes though normally sparkled with a mix of mischievous youth and a mature sense of knowledge only present after years of study and secret keeping. Now they looked old and tired, sick of fighting the good fight. Never did he imagine that the great Hermoine Granger would stop fighting. Neither did he ever imagine that he himself the frightening Draco Malfoy would see the world in a completely different light or that he would one day fight the good fight himself.

His body felt as thought it was on fire, pins and needles stung at his eyes and his head was swimming as he sat up. His heart pounded in his chest feeling as though it may implode upon himself. He did not entirely remember how he got there or why he was there but as his head cleared and once again he could finally see, he saw the face of the ever beautiful Hermoine Granger he remembered at least where it was that he was. Instantly he felt danger lurking nearby and he grabbed Hermoine's arm fiercely. She looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"You must leave this place it is not safe," he told her but she shook her head as violently as he had grabbed for her arm.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said almost venomously, "not without you, if it is not safe for me it is not safe for you, I wont leave you behind." He loosened his grip feeling faint, the world once again was swimming in front of his eyes a mix of black and brown until all he could see was black.

Narcssica felt as if the death eaters were tearing her from limb to limb she was holding steadfast to her secret whilst trying to contact her son, unbeknownst to her the attempt to contact him had gone horribly wrong and he was now by the power of empathy feeling everything that was inflicted upon her. It had been hours since she had been taken from her husband but through the pain she felt as though it had only been a matter of minutes. It was funny how time warped around you when you were forced to become to oblivious to the rest of the world. She had long ago learned to hide inside herself when it came to violent beatings after her father had inflicted damage upon her from a young age. It was another reason she had loved Lucius so much because he had never raised so much as a hand to her or her son. Never had he hurt thier baby as her parents had tortured her. Thankfully to her parents though she was able to withstand anything you threw at her.

Draco writhed in Hermoine's arms filling her with panic as she was uncertain about what to do in these circumstances and she found her book smarts failing her once again. She decided the best course of action and removed her school robe with much difficulty and balled it up to put under Draco's head laying him down as gently as she could in the circumstances. She rushed over to the abandoned fire place clearing the dust away. She dragged the still seizing Malfoy over to the fire palce ducking her head pulled him in with her trying as best she could to stand him up. He finally stopped writhing and went limp and she a hauled him over her shoulder throwing a handful of floo into the fire disappearing from the room and the gates Draco had been sent to protect. She had not imagined getting him out of there would be so easy.

Hermoine lay puffing and panting on the floor of her secret room the dead weight of Draco lying on top of her. Despite the awkward situation she had not the energy to push the slimy slytherin off of her. After ten minutes of lying in this odd position Draco eventually rolled off of the Gyffindor of his own accord sitting up as he came out of his dazed state. He shook his head his eyes getting used to the light when he realized that he had not seen daylight in many months. Then once again as though someone had taken him over his eyes glazed turning a brilliant blue alike to the color of a blind persons and in a voice not quite his own spoke clearly.

_"Both sides will see traitors_

_One traitor will destroy the other_

_The ultimate sacrifice will be unmade_

_The sacrifice will be of tainted blood and tainted body."_

Her son had received the message but it was incomplete and with at least these words said Narciscca collapsed on her captors and fell into a disturbed slumber.

A/N: yay another chapter done... sorry it tends to waffle one a bit but i just found theplo line i had written and i have stuffed the egninngin completely but i am not going to start again i'm going to improvise the initial plot into this one. There is more to the thing Draco said and it will all be explained in due time. For those who want to know who the heir is you will just have to wait until the end because that is one of the many mysteries i am putting into this story but it will be a Draco\Hermoine Ship just bear with me cause i dont like writing fluff.

I write for you so please review

Much love

Perfect Butterfly Blade


	5. Two Lovers Torn

Love Hurts

Chapter Five:

Draco awoke to a worried Hermione applying a wet face cloth to his forehead a look of extreme concern plastered all over her beautiful features. He felt as though his insides had been doused in cheap booze and set alight. He had difficulty opening his eyes let alone sitting up to assure him that things would be fine. That was when he realized that he was no longer in the dank dark of the room he had become accustomed too. Now he was lying on a soft surface and Hermione was there beside him. She shushed him when he tried to ask where he was with a bowl of warm comforting soup which he consumed with relish as it had been quite some time since he had eaten anything substantial. It felt nice to be comforted and cared for. It was almost like when his mother had cared for him when he had caught a terrible chesty flu when he was young and she had dedicated her time to his recovery. In his injured daze he wondered how Hermione had moved him from his duties to where he was now without being seen. He also wondered what could have happened that would have caused her to bring him to this mysterious place.

Hermione sat worried by her secret crush's bedside. How would she explain to him what she had done and why she had done it. Sure he was in a lot of pain when she had abducted him but she had planned to telling him about the secret room before she bought him to it. At least with a fireplace connected to the floo network, though dusty and unused for a long time, he could go back and forth when ever he desired. She was hoping desperately that he would not be mad at her for what she had done when she should have been worrying what her friends would do and say if they were discovered. Anyone up to date with the latest current events in the wizarding world would think that she had up and joined the death eaters instead of coming to the conclusion that the young master Malfoy was in fact on their side. How would she be able to show his face and how would she explain her extended absence to her friends.

Like a bolt of lightening it hit draco the repercussions of Hermoine's actions. The gate he had sworn to protect had been left unguarded and as vunerable as he now felt. He knew he must return to his duties as soon as possible, people were looking for the talisman he was sent to protect. He tried to sit up but he felt a sharp pain shoot down his spine. He was curious as to how he obtained these injuries and what he was doing here. He could only see slightly out of his quarter open eyes and all he could feel was the overwhelming pain. From what he could see his white skin was stained a nasty purple in places. He felt as black and blue as he appeared. Hermoine had taken a great risk in bringing him here and he yearned to reach out and stoke her face and let her know that things would e okay but he knew that things would never be okay again because evil pasts always had a way of catching up with you.

Hermoine longed to hold Draco to her beating heart. She wished she could provide better than the simple iron bed and lumpy mattress that inhibited the hidden sanctuary. She had meant to decorate but with school S.P.E.W and the worries of her two best friends that despite all her attempts were drifting like a ship out sea further and further away, she never seemed to have the time. She felt like she never had time to herself and beside the love of her life she cried silent tears for all of the things she felt she was powerless to do. This was a new feeling to Hermoine as in the past six years she had never felt powerless but she never seemed to know the right thing to do or say anymore in any situation and she was beginning to lose herself. She felt like she was out in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a useless paddle drowning where no one would notice. Then again she also felt unnoticed a lot of the time as Harry and Ron took credit for things she herself had figured out time after time after time. She couldn't entirely blame them seeing as Ron could only think of his stomach 85 of the time and the other 10 was focused on harry, the other 5 on quidditch and Harry was too busy worrying about voldermort to see beyond his glasses and notice the pain in Hermiones voice as she spoke or the pained expression on her face as she was ignored once again. Her tears spattered softly as they fell past her honey cheeks, past her pale pink lips over her chin and onto the clean white linen she had placed on the bed where Draco now lay.

Draco didn't know what to do or say when he felt the feeling of warm water dropping onto his arm. The only conclusion he could reach was that Hermione was crying and in response he blindly moved his hand about in a vain hope of finding hers. When he finally found her warm skin he ran his hand down her arm until he reached her hand and squeezed it gently giving her a small glimmer of hope in her heart. He wished in his heart that there were not so many differences between them and that he could hold her how he wanted to instead of settling for simply holding her hand. All the times he had longed to kiss her when she had rambled on about the silly house elves or when she was telling him about something she had learned, which he in turn was now learning as anything that was news to her was more often than not news to him. He regretted the things he had done in the past and the way he had behaved. He felt childish for all of the stupid names he had called her and silly pranks he had pulled so that his friends and himself could have a laugh always at her expense. He had felt guilty after they had come to a mutual understanding, as it took a while for them to become friends, and he had still been cruel to her to save face. He had not been entirely honest with her, in fact he had bluntly lied to her and told her that he had nothing to do with the dark lord and would never consider doing anything for him. He had snuck around like the snake that he felt he was going to meetings and accepting his mission from Voldermort in hopes of making his parents proud of him. He did not know that his mother had gone behind his back to protect him, enlisting Snape to save him from the dirty mission he was sent to fulfill. She had never had the opportunity to tell him and he was oblivious to the fact that she it had been discovered that it was she and not snape who had undermined and could have ruined the mission.

That did not mean that he had wanted to kill the Headmaster. In fact he had grown to respect him and see him in a completely different light to the one Voldermort had portrayed him in. He slowly grew to realize that he was teaching equality instead of being the plain old muggle lover that the death eaters saw him as and he was only trying to provide a safe environment where the students could study magic without prejudice and judgment. He felt bad for judging someone by what we thought was the quality of their blood only to see, thanks to Hermiones gentle persuasion that their blood was the same. She despite his insistence that she didn't had cut her hand and cut his and shown him that his blood was no different to hers. Unfortunately this revelation had come a little too late and he was too deep to quit the from the realm of the deatheaters. Besides if he had of pulled out his whole family would have been shamed and at times he felt angry at Snape for what he had done despite the fact that he had saved him from committing on of the most evil of acts.

Hermione despite her own sorrow held a sense of foreboding remembering the words Draco had said before he had collapsed in a heap on her floor. He had looked mighty strange, not knowing that he held such a powerful connection with his mother, and she was scared that his moment of random babbling he had conveyed a dangerous message that had sealed both of their fates. Draco had now fallen into another deep slumber and she rose from his side and whisked the bowl that had contained his soup into the kitchen for cleaning, not before checking carefully that the boys were busy else where and did not see her emerging from the room she had sneakily hidden from them. The last thing she wanted was for them to find Draco in there because she knew they would jump to the wrong conclusions. At the same time she felt a rush of the thrill of hiding something and going behind the backs of her friends despite the nagging guilt that consumed her stomach along with the butterflies she had felt when Draco had reached for her hand and held it squeezing softly. Something was not right and Hermione knew that as always she would have to be the one that figured it out. She went back into her own room after cleaning up and sat at her desk to ponder the riddle that Draco had left her.

The pain in his head was fierce but Draco had a feeling that he was needed back at the gates. He did not want Hermione to worry but he also knew that she would not allow him to leave in this condition and so with all of his strength and determination he swung his legs over the bed, waiting momentarily for the throbbing in his head to subside before getting to his feet, struggling on his sore legs. He walked a few laps of the room regaining his strength and before long he felt as normal as he had before he had been brought here. Now that he could see he noticed the fire place and in a flash of green flames he was gone.

She was no closer to figuring out the mystery of Draco's riddle than when she had first sat down and the sun had sunk far below the horizion with the moon and the stars now high up in the sky. Felling hunger pang at her stomach she decided that she should go and get something to eat. Then realizing that she had forgotten Draco completely she hurried out to the kitchen where she cooked more food than is required for one person hoping the boys would not notice but strangely enough the place was eerily quiet. She was suprised to discover how late it really was when after looking around she found Ron fast asleep and Harry's bed empty. She found this odd but dismissed it thinking Harry had simply gone for a walk to clear his head as he had been known to in the past. Seeing that the coast was clear she made her way back to the hidden room and opened the door to find it as empty as Harry's bed had been.

A/N:

Yay! another one done! there are alot of secrets and twists and turns in this and i know that Dracos sudden medical condition and then quick recovery seems odd but all will be explained...well i can explain it now really... he has a strong connection with his mother when his mother contacts him through teleapathy he can not only hear what she is saying he says it and feels what she is feeling... So the "prophecy" was something his mother knew and passed onto him... because well she is locked up and cant tell him herself... does that make any sense? He was feeling better because she was not trying to contact him but he is still sore because having a seizure can be quite a painful and dangerous experience and it happens when she is trying to reach him and is in pain herself.

Please Review Guys I write this stuff for your pleasure so just take a few minutes of time and tell me what you think because i never get enough reviews! Also please check out my other stories and my profile and review them too! I have heaps of favorites and I am going through and picking what i think are the best stories so check em out you might find a few that you really enjoy Also if you review my stories i am more likely to read and review yours if i dont i cant cause i dont know who you are!

i love my readers so please keep reading

Perfect Butterfly Blade


	6. The Love Of A Malfoy Man

Love Hurts:

Chapter Six

Draco landed with a thud in the darkened room he had been sent to protect. But it was not as he remembered, the door was slightly ajar and the white light from the candles outside was casting a pale beam of light onto the floor. Wand at the ready his eyes, normally accustomed to the dark was finding it difficult to spot the unknown intruder when a familiar voice called to him from the shadows.

"My son, I have found you," Lucius rushed towards his son and wrapped his arms around him thankful that he was at least alive and not rotting in Azkaban as was his greatest fear. He felt terrible about the news he would have to deliver to his son and wished he was able to undertake the mission but the heir had been specific when he said that Draco must do this and no the elder malfoy. He hoped his son had the smarts to run as far away as possible and never think of the terrible consequences that were to occur.

Draco welcomed the affection of his father and felt a strong urge to sob into his robes and beg forgiveness for his weakness. He had figured his inability to undertake his mission would have serious repercussions. He had been very anxious for news of his parents and in receiving none had worked himself into a worried state over their safety. Unfortunately his father did not come bearing good news and before the father and son could exchange stories another figure cast a shadow in the doorway.

The face of Voldermort's heir was menacing and cruel and his eyes shone with malice and greed of power.

"I see you have quite a close connection with a mudblood," he snickered with cruelty. Draco opened his mouth to respond but could not think of anything to say in reply to the youth who he knew to be his age. This left him with the effect of a fish out of water and after opening and closing his mouth trying to think of something witty to say in response to the young man whom he had never liked and simply settled with nodding his head. This unfortunately seemed to please him all the more, a reaction he had not expected. "Wonderful," the heir smirked with unknown pleasure unsettling the Malfoy pair. With a flick of his wand the door closed and sealed behind him as he hopped merrily into the room all of his plans and affairs going in order as he had hoped.

Voldermort had been very annoyed at the change in plans when the junior Malfoy had not gone through with the previously made plans and this had sent things into disarray. Draco had been a disposable pawn where as Snape was a valuable effort and it seemed that both of the offenders had come to new usages. He was here to explain the new course of action and the consequences where his demands not met. The plan seemed unorthodox if not explained properly and entirely but he felt that the Malfoy family did not need to know all of the gory details as they now had become part of the outer circle of death eaters and were deemed untrustworthy. He also had a feeling that they were already aware of this and that this tid bit of information and this mission would restore their broken faith in their strange occult. With another flick of his wand a sturdy round wooden table and three chairs appeared before them and he motioned for the other two to sit.

Strangely enough in the chaos no one had paid attention to the golden doors behind them and gave no further thought to their usage. Seated at the round table they were forced to face each other and this unnerved Draco greatly as he did not like the look on the young heirs face. He did not waste anytime and explained immediately the task set for Draco.

"I want you to seduce the mudblood," was all he said to Draco who suddenly felt like he was being kicked very hard. He had hoped that he had misheard the youth but knew that he heard clearly. Draco also hoped that his worry and disappointment was not reflected in his facial features.

"Why?" he bravely questioned hoping that he would not be severely punished for his curiosity as it was rare for anyone to question the dark lord and any mission he required you to do.

"We have our reasons and that is all you need to know. Now as you can presume there will be dire consequences if the dark lord bidding is not done according to plan this time," the heir responded sharply admiring the courage of Draco whilst still maintaining his air of high social standing and not letting his admiration to be known.

Draco showed a stiff upper lip to the threats made to him but when he was informed for the reaction to his action he wanted more than anything to strangle the young man sitting across from him and it was only out of fear that he controlled himself. Fear was an unsettling emotion for Draco and so it only had cause to infuriate him further.

"We will torture your mother a little more every time something goes wrong and if you fail we will kill her," The heir's smirk grew ever wider as he watched Draco's inner battle with himself. What he didn't know was that he was might as well have torn him limb from limb for he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, his mothers life or any possible chance with Hermione. With reluctance that he hoped did not show he accepted his mission and with a smug smile the other youth took off secure in the knowledge that he would not be crossed as he had been well informed of the strong bonds and connections of the Malfoy family and knew that above all they were loyal to one another. He was not worried in the least that the elder Malfoy was walking around free because he was well aware of the consequences should anything go wrong.

The two Malfoy men sat there with their heads hung in shame and also in anxious worry, concerned with the fate of one woman that neither could help but love. Lucius thought back to when they had first been married and his wife had baked cookies despite his insistence that they had house elves for that. She had persuaded him that she enjoyed the work and did not want to become lazy as this was a road straight to obesity despite the fact she was baking cookies. He had built her a kitchen so that she could then cook to her hearts content and she had loved him passionately in thanks. He had always enjoyed the food she created more than anything he had ever eaten. When they dined at restaurants the food tasted to him like cardboard in comparison and he had rarely gone out and had her teach him how to cook for himself but even his creations were failures compared to her.

He could never sing higher praises of anyone other than his wife and his friends had laughed at him when he raved on about his luck at finding the perfect wife. Finding out they were expecting a child had been the happiest day of his life and he had lifted her into the air and spun her around until she warned him she would be sick all over him if he had not put her down immediately. Now he felt sickened by the danger his son had been placed in and wished that he could do something to protect his wife and son as was his duty of care to his family. He was the head of his house hold and his loved ones had always obeyed him because he had never shown unkindness to them and were certain that he would not lead them in the wrong direction. What a failure he now felt, both his wife and son were in danger because of a stupid clan he had gotten mixed up in and he now had seen the error of his ways. He had almost been as happy when he had found out he had a son. He had paced in front of the room while his wife gave birth concerned that no noise could be heard from inside except for the running around of nurses and midwives and then how his heart had leapt for joy at his son's first wails of life. Crying with powerful lungs Lucius had been driven to tears so overjoyed at the sound he was but also concerned for the well being of his wife. He had rushed into the room despite loud objections to find his wife sitting up smiling and cradling their child in her arms her eyes too full of fresh tears. He was pushed from the room and told he could return once it had been cleaned up, which thanks to magic was not long at all. When he returned he had lain beside Narcissica with their newborn lying between them and they needed not to say a word to one another they both understood the powerful love parenthood provides a person no matter of age, sex, religion or creed. They had felt in that moment like everything in the world would always be perfect.

Unfortunately life had not been perfect and after the birth of their son and heir things progressively had gone down hill in the malfoy household. It had started when they had discovered they were unable to further parents and more future children. This had left them both devastated as after the birth of Draco they had decided they had wanted a rather large brood and with their family fortunes they could afford to do so. For years they began to lose their separate passions clingily holding onto to one another in desperation for a means of comfort and support as they knew they had a strong bond and always they together would care for Draco with tender love and affection. They showered him with presents and spoiled him with anything he wanted and things that he neither wanted nor needed simply because they could.

Then Voldermort rose to power and enlisted the help of lucius filling him with hateful lies that were hippocritical and contradictory and desperate for help lucius had followed him thing the dark lord would help his wife and himself in thier awful barren situation. Eventually Lucius has been so brainwashed and so involved that it had become impossible to escape and he had found himself committing acts he would never dream of doing had he not been under the influence of power that the dark lord had given him. All the while not knowing that the dark lord had not given him anything and taken everything. His wife had often threatened to leave him had he not left but he had broken down and explained to her the difficult position he was in and she had reluctantly understood.

He was well aware of Draco's feelings for Hermoine and their complicated relationship and had often tried to tell him that if he had not made a move it would one day be too late and his chances would have blown away in the wind. His family had to pretend to be discriminatory and prejudice in order to stay alive and to also save face for a Malfoy was too proud to admit to defeat. He would have given anything even his own life to trade places with his son but little did he know that his son what a suprise his son had in store for him. That his son had been keeping a secret from all of them. His son pulled him aside and when he was sure that the coast was clear explained to his father the secret of the gates he had sworn to protect. Lucius began to see all of the pieces of the puzzle coming together. What neither of them saw or heard was the young wizard sitting outside the door listening in to every word they had spoken.

A/N:

Another one bites the dust!!! you have no idea how hard it is to write the chappies for this story! Every single one is at least 2000 words for you and i try to put in a little dialouge because of course people do talk and there will be more of it when i really get into the draco and hermione parts of it. I am warning you this will be a very long and complex story but no matter how hard it is to write even 2000 words i still love writing it, so much so that its 6 am and i should really go to bed!

I loved writing the romantic stuff about Lucius and Narcissca, alot of people think of them as cold hearted bastards but given a little creativity they can have a beautiful love story so i will be putting a tiny Lucius and Narcissca line into it but it is mainly a draco and hermione one. Have you figured out who the heir is yet? I gave you a couple of clues in this chappie that make it pretty obvious if you ask me but as i said i wont be naming names until the end really. Even if you clever cookies figure it out which i am sure you will.

Anyway please review cause everyone loves reviews, i am happy to take any ideas for the plot (of course you will get the credit if you thought of it) seeing as i stuffed the original plan... this will be some what like i planned but i think its alot better than i imagined now so please review and check out my other stories and my favorites and review them too! i have heaps of one shots and completed fics in my favorites so dont be shy, copy and paste them into word to read em, thats what i do that way you can read them anywhere you have a computer even if you dont have or cant use the net...

Well i should go and get some sleep... i will try and have another chapter for you soon but please review!

Much love

Perfect Butterfly Blade


	7. Look Into My Eyes

Love Hurts:

Chapter Seven.

Draco waited patiently in front of the gates, positive that his lady love would eventually find him. He played with the tattered hem of his green school robes that had now become quite smelly. His teeth felt disgusting as he had been unable to brush them since fleeing in shame and it suddenly became apparent that he would encounter many difficulties wooing miss Granger in his current disheveled state of appearance. It would also be impossible for him to leave the confines of a building without being painfully obvious.

As these realizations were occurring to him his lady came flying out of the chimney covered in soot and coughing in a hacking sense waving away the cloud of dust floating around her like a dark halo or aura. Her face was dirty and sooty as the cloud cleared and she now some what resembled a chimney sweep after a days hard work. Looking at his angel looking as dirty as he felt bought a smile, not a smirk to the face of the youthful Draco Malfoy. She dusted herself off and walked towards Draco in what he thought to be a sexy slink that suited her curvaceous form a smirk of her own on her face.

"I was wondering where you had gotten to," she sat herself down beside him and passed him what appeared to be a plastic shopping bag over to him. Draco peered into the bag to discover a bountiful feat awaiting him and he plunged his hungry hand into it grabbing and stuffing faster than Joan Rivers can book herself in for bot-ox. Hermione gave him an awkward wayward smile her eyes sparkling happy that she had been able to whet his appetite some what and not caring that he was too hungry to respond to her question or that she had bought the food for both of them to share. His need and hunger was greater than hers and she could not blame him as she figured it would have been a while since his last meal.

"I'm sorry I took off," he mumbled his mouth full of food, "these chips are great!" This made Hermione chuckle to herself.

"Thanks, I have a fair talent with the deep fryer, It's the only muggle contraption used for cooking that agrees with me." Her mother had never really thought her how to cook or look after a home so Hermione relied heavily on magic to keep everything in order. She was some what thankful that she was a witch as she had never had any luck in the kitchen, no matter how hard she tried or how well she followed the recipe she always managed to do something wrong.

Draco looked at her surprised, it was chauvinistic of him but he thought that all women could cook. He thought back fondly of his mothers cooking. There was a woman who could do anything you put in front of her. Her chocolate chip cookies melted in your mouth, her tirramissu would be soft and fluffy but not over powering. Even a simple Hot Chocolate tasted magnificent when made by her hands.

He felt an overwhelming tugging in his stomach caused by his longing for his mother. He may be a full grown adult wizard but he always felt comforted by the sweet smell of his mothers hair that always wafted from her. He missed her warm hugs and comforting words. He now felt so lonely and wanted to weep openly but felt ashamed considering the present company. Hermione was studying his face like an open book that she could not comprehend. He looked shattered and lost. He looked alone and miserable and before she could stop herself she reached out and brushed his cheek with her hand. Draco snapped out of his revere when she touched him looking at her stunned and wide eyed like he was a child again and his father was telling him tales of pirates while sitting on his lap until he would fall asleep.

Again they sat in the dim room lit only by the golden gates Draco was protecting, staring into one an-other's eyes trying to explore the depths of the others soul. Trying to figure out the pain and anguish mirrored in the different coloured refection. Like two drowning souls breathing for the other, it gave them an eerie sense of being one soul in two physical bodies. A feeling like the other was supposed to be there, sharing this pain.

Draco felt his heart beating like a war drum in his chest and Hermione could hear her pulse echoing in her ears. She did not move her hand, leaving it there cupping his features, his jaw strong and bold, running her thumb over his cheek soft like the skin of a newborn infant but lined and creased with unknown burden. She wanted to take his pain away, an overwhelming feeling.

Draco raised his own hand to cover her own closing his eyes in the process and tilting his chin so her hand had come into contact with her lips. He breathed in heavily the smell of soot and oil heavy on her hard working hands. He wanted to take her into his arms and just hold her and release his soul just let all of the horrible things that had happened to the both of them just float away and be forgotten. Her simplicity bedazzled him, her intelligence engrossed him. He wanted to be a part of her forever. To give her his heart. In that moment irrational thoughts flew though his mind. He wanted to marry the woman in front of him, he wanted her to have his children and he wanted her to soothe him like his mother had as a child. He wondered if this is how his parents had felt, how they knew that they were meant to be together. Then again it was so much more simple for his parents. They had not had to deal with rivalry as fierce, they had not had the burden of the dark lord. Their youth had been free of the pressures of society weighing heavily on the minds of young adults.

Hermione gasped at the feeling of Draco's lips on her leather like hands, callused and blistered from years of hard work. She pulled her hand sharply from his grip and stared wide eyed at him. She was unsure of his intentions or his emotions. She was skeptical but something inside her longed to kiss those lips that had softly caressed his skin. To run his hands over his arms and feel them wrapped around her in turn. She felt torn between the love she felt in her heart and the loyalty she held to her friends, her family and her house. Tears welled in her eyes and dropped like rain drops over her cheeks. This time it was Draco's turn and he reached out to her wiping away the tears from her skin before she turned her face away from him causing his hand to fall from her face.

"Why won't you let me touch you, when you want to touch me?" Draco whispered solemnly. She looked at him like she had been slapped. "Why are you crying and why cant you tell me what is wrong?" He persisted in asking.

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to," was her simple curt response. With this she stood offering him a hand up from the cold stone floor. "I have somewhere you can sleep," she looked him up and down, "and have a shower and have your clothes mended, and do well what ever it is you have to do." He gave her a look that he hoped resembled gratitude.

He felt now what he thought to be agony. Agony caused by the grim knowledge that the woman he loved so passionately would never feel the same as he. He felt shame that he could love so freely but not be able to gain even this young woman's trust let alone the admiration that beat so fiercely in his own heart. How could he hope for her love when after all this time she would not trust him with her emotions. When they had so openly discussed matters that were close to them whilst they studied at school but at the same time he realized that he hardly knew the woman before him. He did not really know what she ached for, what she wanted from life and why.

"Thank you," he replied meekly taking her hand and yet still helping himself up by using his own weight. Unfortunately because she was pulling as he was helping himself up he bumped into her forcefully earning yet another dirty look from him.

"You should probably brush your teeth too, your breath smells like milk that's been left behind the radiator for a fortnight," she tried offering him a meek smile herself and turned making her way into the fire place forgetting that she was still holding his hand so naturally dragging him in along side of her. In a flash of green flames once again they were gone landing with a hard thump on the floor of her secret room.

Draco stood as regally as he could in tattered smelly robes and breath that smelled like off milk and vainly tried to brush away the dust that covered him. Hermione made her way to a small window that looked out onto a grassy pasture just beyond the hustle and bustle of Hogsmede. From the outside it did not exist so to any passers by, (which was a rare occurrence) it appeared as though as pile of black ash was wafting from the middle of nowhere. As though the black cloud had just miraculously appeared. When the room was cleared Hermione resolved to cleaning the fireplace she had connected secretly to the floo network of any further soot so that next time it was needed for use it would not fill the entire tiny room with it's contents as either Draco or herself entered the property via it. It was then she had remembered that she had left the bag that she had taken Draco behind.

Already busy with cleaning the fireplace she decided to ignore it. Ignoring that she was in the room Draco removed his tatty robe and had begun unbuttoning his dirty white school shirt. When Hermione turned around she blushed, a dark crimson covering her slightly sun kissed and somewhat freckled cheeks. She did not want him to see her blushing so she turned away and exited the private retreat she had created for herself.

Luck must have been on her side as once again the boys were not at home so she had no troubles sneaking into their room and retrieving a shirt and a pair of pants for her visitor. She then made her way to the linen cupboard and took a plush soft red towel so that he could bathe. After taking these back to him without looking at him directly she rushed back to the bathroom finding a large portable basin and filling it with hot water and soap along with half a dozen wash cloths, a toothbrush, toothpaste, her own shampoo and conditioner, a disposable razor, Harry's shaving cream and some extra soap for good measure. As she was taking these in she heard the key turning in the lock and who should come in the door but her ever loving friend Ron.

Ron gave her a quizzical look as they had a working bathroom she had no need to be taking these items into her bedroom. She rushed past him into her room and shut the door with her foot behind her. She quickly took the aforementioned objects into Draco who was waiting patiently for her on the bed. She pointed him in the direction of the sink for fresh water and then exited without delay shutting the door behind her only in the nick of time as there came a rapping at her door. She opened it to a befuddled Ron, his natural curiosity getting the better of him.

"What on earth are you up to Hermione?" He asked inquisitively.

"None of your business," she promptly replied slamming the door in his face and locking it behind her with a key instead of magic. Let's seem him get through that she smirked to herself before realizing how messy she must look herself.

**A/N:**

I'm sorry i have taken so long guys! My Internet is playing games of hide and seek on me.

I'm not as happy with the ending of this chapter as I would like to be but it took me a while so anything is better than nothing I guess.

A **BIG **thank you to Fractured Faerie and Isabella Heart who both have given me wonderful reviews, again i am sorry about the lack of dialogue I am really trying here but i cant say too much or I'll give it all away and then it wont be as long as i want it to be, I promise as it evolves there should be more talking.

Please go read Fractured Fairies work she is amazing and i love her stories! Remember if you review me I will review you! She left me a great big review cause i left her one (recommending this story of course), If you like it tell me so, if you don't tell me why not, if you have plot ideas I'm all ears!

Hopefully i will have more on this one soon but please do check out my other stories and my favorites there are lots of goodies waiting to be found and i find other people's fave lists are the best place to find the best stories!

Must go I still need to spell check

Much love

Perfect Butterfly Blade


	8. When Your In Need Of A Friend

Love Hurts:

Chapter Eight.

Hermione was fed up. Fed up with her friends, fed up with Draco and fed up with herself. She didn't want to carry burdens anymore. She was too busy trying to figure out things for herself to be fussed with what was going on with other people. Ron had given her a wary glance before returning to his television and popcorn as she had made her way to the shower. Now the hot water was streaming over her eating away the stress of the day. She felt a lot more peaceful when she was in the shower because she knew that no one could get to her in here. It had been the same with her room until she had shown Draco the hidden room behind the wall. He was yet to enter her room but she knew it was a matter of time before he began going crazy in the small room she was hiding him in. At least in the shower she could not and would not e disturbed. But as her luck went as she began to rinse the conditioner from her long brown hair and the soap from her skin there came a loud banging from the bathroom door and what sounded like Harry whining that he had to go to the bathroom immediately.

"I won't be much longer! Just hold on," she bellowed back to him. She finished rinsing herself off and stepped out onto the red towel placed on the floor and reached for her own towel which was a sunny yellow colour, wrapping it around herself before reaching for another towel to wrap her hair in. When she was satisfied that she was decent enough to make the quick dash from the warm, steamy bathroom to her heated bedroom in the chilly November air, she unlocked the door and ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the warmth and security of her own room in turn locking it behind her.

Ron looked confused at the fleeting figure of Hermione, wrapped in a towel, trying not to drool and trying to figure out what was with her recent turn of attitude. This was not the happy and harmonious Hermione he remembered. Instead she was grumpy and secretive and this was starting to spook Ron. Not only had Harry disinclude him in his activities, withdrawing deeper into his own sense of self pity, but it seemed that Hermione was doing likewise, without the depressive moodiness that wafted around Harry. The golden trio who had stood together through thick and thin was disintegrating before his very blue eyes and freckled face. He felt the same as he always had, like a loyal st Bernard dog with with small drum of rum around his neck for emergencies, so it must be his friends he concluded, that had changed. He had to be cautious in his approach as not to tread on any toes, if he angered either of his close friends he knew it would end up blowing up like a terrorist on a mission in his own face. How could he talk to them when they both persisted in being brick walls?

Harry was concerned about Ron, he was not as spiritedly as he remembered him, always full of bright and cheerful commentary. He now was withdrawn and shot his friends looks that turned daggers in his chest. He wished he was capable of confiding in his closest friend, it was hard when the weight you had to carry was so heavy. When the wizarding world depended upon you to rid them of evil. It made him want to scream sometimes, others he wanted to curl into a ball and cry. He did not want to worry his friends, he had no plan now that Dumbledore was dead. Oh how he hated Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. He wanted them to feel like he felt and then some. He worried sometimes at his own sadistic thoughts that brought him pleasure when thinking of various ways he could cause physical and emotional pain on them. Then again emotional pain was beyond his control, they had no hearts, they could not feel like he did. Remorse at his own inability to save someone who had saved him time and time again. The dark side were picking off people close to him and he worried that his two room mates would be next on the list of the Dark Lord.

Draco was getting bored in the little box of a room Hermione was keeping him in and he was unable no matter how he tried to find the door out of here. Not only that but he was scared that he would be discovered if he left the confines of this said box. He sat beside the window his head creased in deep thought about his mission. He was unsure of how he would gain Hermione's trust after betraying the whole wizarding world. He was a fugitive and they could never really be together under these conditions. He was full of sorrow. His heart was captured as though cupid had shot him with a bow and arrow but Cupid had been cruel and how shot the one he loved. The circumstances were foreboding and would make life difficult for both him and Hermione, but if he failed in his mission the other woman he loved, his mother would pay the penalty for his inactivity. He wondered if his mother could see this beautiful sunset that he was witnessing. His eyes welled with tears as he thought of his mother and father, captured and chained in a small prison cell. What would become of them. What would become of him? The tears were now flowing from his pale grey eyes onto his white skin dripping off his chin onto the white linen shirt Hermione had given him, leaving behind small little spots where the fabric absorbed the moisture. He did not hide them. He just simply sat there and cried.

Hermione was doing almost everything in her room now, both of her friends noticed. They only saw her when she emerged to shower, eat and use the bathroom. When she returned to her room they could hear the sound of a key clicking in the door locking them out firmly. They dared not disturb her for fear of her temper. They had both come to the conclusion that women were very temperamental and were not to have their privacy disturbed. If you were to annoy a woman it was like releasing a hungry lioness from her cage and neither felt like being devoured. She had even forsaken the television, something they had all used to numb their minds of conscious thought. It was not the same without her and they felt her absence greatly. Never would they speak as the idiot box flashed moving pictures before their eyes. They watched shows one would not normally dream of them watching, interesting themselves with documentaries, neighbours and David Letterman. Sometimes they would watch video clips until they fell asleep on the couch waiting for just a glimpse of the brains of their operation. No longer contributing but still depended upon greatly.

Once again they sat side by side, not saying a word to one another trying to think so hard of the right thing to say to the other without saying the wrong thing. It was hard now that they were both grown men. Emotions were something they were not allowed to express but were both feeling so passionately. To admit one's pain was to lose face to their friend. They wanted to comfort and support the other without letting their guard down. It was horrible that they could not trust anyone not even friends they had grown up with and their inability to express themselves made them awkward and strange with one another. After two hours of uncomfortable silence Ron could not take any more.

"How have you been Harry," he said mustering his courage and breaking the ice without looking at his friend.

"So, So and yourself Ron," Harry replied trying to sound noncholant and also avoiding eye contact. Ron now that he had a response turned to face his friend who was not looking So, So as he said.

"Bloody terrible, I have no idea what to do anymore," Ron confided in his friend watching his face carefully for a reaction to his comments.

"Me neither Ron, me neither," Harry sighed heavily shutting his eyes and trying to regain his composure. He wanted to cry more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. He wanted Dumbledore back, he would always know the right thing to say or do. Ron seeing his friend in obvious distress slid over the couch and put his arm around his friend as masculinity as he possibly could in this situation. Harry leaned into his friend and wrapped his arms around him his shoulders shuddering and he found himself crying in the arms of his oldest and dearest friend. He felt free in that moment, he knew that Ron would not judge him as he ran his hand over his back and soothing him as best as he could. When he was done crying and could not find any more tears he released his friend smiling weakly.

"Thanks Ron," he looked a little sheepishly at his friend.

"No worries Harry," Ron replied returning his sheepish smile. He did not need to know then what was wrong with Harry, he understood that as a friend it was not his place to ask questions, simply to be there and to understand. Not to judge his friend who was in need. Just to be a friend and to let him unburden his misery when ever he was in need of release.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Harry asked Ron this time breaking the strangely comfortable silence considering Harry had just chucked a big teary over his comrade. Ron did not want to burden Harry with his troubles seeing as Harry had his own.

"Not really, anything you want to talk about Harry?" Ron replied to his friends question seeing as Harry obviously had issues. Harry chuckled to himself slightly. After finally getting his depressive emotions off his chest he felt a lot better.

"Nah, I think I'm right now... So what's news."

Hermione decided that Draco must be hungry by now and went to the kitchen to fidget around and scratch together something to eat for both her and Draco. As she left the confines of her room she noticed her two friends were huddled up on the couch. Ron was obviously comforting Harry and she decided to leave them to their male bonding or what ever it was they were up to. After managing a few toasted cheese and avocado sandwiches with red onion and a simple microwave version of Tuna Mornay, which really only consisted of rice, tuna and cheese she returned to her room and took her bounty into Draco who was sitting up in bed eagerly awaiting his dinner. For a Malfoy he sure lacked in table manners and seemed to resemble an animal eating than a human being. She was fairly famished herself and nothing was said until the food was demolished and the plates polished clean, thanks to Draco licking the plate and picking up any crumbs of course. After going hungry for long periods of time and only being able to steal scraps from the Hogwarts kitchen even Hermione's cooking tasted like a banquet to him. He gave her a heartfelt thankful smile taking her hand in his own and pulled her to the bed he used as a chair and a means of somewhere to sleep. Hermione was a little concerned about his intentions and sat on the side of the bed wondering what it was he was up to looking cautiously and meekly into his beautiful face. He returned her smile and pulled her down onto the bed with him so they were laying side by side. He put his arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist engulfing her in a comforting hug. There they lay side by side, not saying a word comforted in the company of their secret crush.

**A/N:**

Thanks for your wonderful review Isabelle Heart... Who has been a faithful reader and reviewer... You are fantastic and to a new reviewer Apolloina2, i am a die hard Draco and Hermione Shipper myself, if you check out my profile i have 3 more Draco Hermione stories... For You To Notice Me is my finished one but i am working hard on this and I wanna grow old with you. I will get around to Magic but i write about 3000 words per chapter on that one and only 2000 words per chapter on this and I wanna grow old with you, i know its slack but it is really hard to write sometimes so i try and keep chapters to the same size... that way i wont give too much away i don't hope... Yes i have tried to show a softer side to the Malfoy family... I find that it makes things interesting.. they are very loyal to each other and love each other very much but they are willing to sacrifice a lot for one another... I just find it lots of fun to have them be so kind hearted... Trust me future chapters are gonna be great this is one of my fave fics that i am writing...

Any way I love my reviewers very much and any feed back is greatly appreciated.

Just to clarify i am not writing a Ron/Harry slash... this chapter was about friends and being able to rely on friends. It can be pretty lonely when you have no one to talk to about your problems... trust me... I really liked this ending i thought it was very cute...

Review and tell me what you think... even if you hated it... just tell me why you hated it and I'll try and do better next time...

YAY DIALOUGE!!!! It wasn't much but at least they are talking... Lol i thought that was a very cute little scene between Ron and Harry... very cute indeed...

Anyway Again i have to spell check SO PLEASE REVIEW EVERYONE LOVES REVIEWS!

Much Love,

Perfect Butterfly Blade


	9. A Considerate Gesture

Chapter Nine

Draco, under the guise of a heavy cloak, perused the shelves of Flourish and Botts trying to find a particular book. He was unsure of how he was going to pay for said book but he knew how appreciative Hermione would be for the small gesture. Something he had learned over time was that it was the small things that captivated Hermione and not huge obvious romantic gestures. Deciding that he would not find it in the magical section he moved towards the muggle fiction where he found what he was looking for. Looking around he noticed that the area was desolate and he slipped the medium sized book under his heavy cloak and hurried out of Flourish and Botts before anyone could notice him.

It was raining outside and Hermione peered out the window at the gray sky covering the land before her. She had pulled up a rope of sheets that Draco had used to escape with, now she was worried about his where abouts. He would be obvious walking around Hogsmede and she feared what would happen if he was caught. She was surprised he had managed to climb out of the small window without being noticed in the first place. After roughly thirty minutes she could hear someone cursing loudly underneath the window and when she popped her head out all she could see was a heavy cloak kicking the wall muttering curses under its breath. Then the cloaked figure looked up and she recognised the pale features underneath it. She hurriedly threw the sheet rope out the window and then ducked her head back inside so that she would not be seen if he happened to be caught scaling her wall into a non-existent window. Draco's head was the first thing to appear but he had obviously not thought out his re-entry into the room as there was no room for his legs so Hermione had to pull him in through the window causing him to land with a loud thump awkwardly on his face.

Hermione could not contain her giggles, not worrying if anyone had heard the rather loud bang as his face had connected with the ground, Draco's face held a rather sour expression but that just made her laugh harder. It took her a while to control her girlish giggling, not before Draco had seen the humor in the situation and had begun laughing himself. It then dawned on her the risk he had taken leaving the room she had offered him and her face soured which in turn ceased the stifled snorts from Draco.

"Where did you go?" she questioned him, worry and anger apparent on her face.

"For a walk," he lied in response turning a deep shade of crimson, similar to that of a cooked lobster, that made it more than obvious that he was not being truthful.

"For a walk?" Hermione repeated cocking an eyebrow as if to say i don't believe you, "then why did you have to climb out the window? You could have gone back to Hogwarts and walked around there." Draco stood up and brushed some imaginary dust off of the grey wool cloak he was wearing over the fresh linen shirt and cotton pants Hermione had stolen from Harry and Ron. He was trying to think up a good and believable lie to tell her. It would have to be a doozy as he knew Hermione could see quite plainly through lies. No matter how elaborate that were. He decided that it would be best to be defensive about his whereabouts causing a small argument as that would be the only way to hide the truth from her.

"Why do you have to know where I have been?" he leaned against the fire place in case he had to make a hasty retreat, "What business is it of yours, know it all?" He could see he had hit the right chord with Hermione and she was truly offended by his remarks. Hermione on the other hand was feeling quite fiery and was having trouble containing. She had sat there worried about him and when she asked for an explanation as to his whereabouts he insulted her.

"Well seeing as this is my place, and that is my window you climbed out of, i have every right to be curious! What if you'd have been caught? I would get in a lot of trouble for harbouring a fugitive!" She snapped back in retort offending her friend in the process.

"So that's what you think of me? A fugitive and a snitch? You think I would tell anyone what you've done for me? You think I don't appreciate your help?" He pulled the book out from under his cloak and threw it on the bed, "I went to get this for you, I wanted to wrap it and leave it as a gift, don't bother, there is no need to thank me." and with that he turned on his heels and disappeared in a flash of green flames.

Hermione was stunned at the gesture, on the bed lay a hardcover copy of one of her favorite stories from her child hood. She sat down heavily on the bed and fingered the hard spine of limited edition version of Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol. When she opened the hard cover to her surprise inside was in elegant script written a poem not by the original author of the book but by the famous Edgar Allen Poe. Hermione ran her fingers over the elegant words and she suddenly felt awful for the things she had said in anger to her friend. Not only had he gotten her a book she had read more times than Hogwarts: A history, but he had also written one of her favorite poems, by her favorite poet inside of it. When she flipped to the back cover in the same script she found another poem also by Edgar Allen Poe.

It amazed her how he had remembered her favorite things, she may of only told him in a passing, quick conversation and did not expect him to remember in such detail. She held the small token of appreciation to her chest and inhaled deeply falling onto the bed she had been sitting on previously. She felt racked with guilt and did not know how to make it up to her special friend. She could not remember Harry or Ron doing anything for her, definitely they had not done something so generous and thoughtful. She felt so consumed with her own guilt that she for a while did not even think to return the favor.

Draco kicked the stones around the room, he was quite annoyed that his plans had been spoiled. He was fretting as he had not heard any news of his mother. As he was pacing another length of the room the door opened and in walked his father. He sat with a heavy thump on the ground, dismissing any form of grace as he did so. His father with the same lack of grace thumped down beside him.

"How is she?" Draco asked putting his head on his fathers shoulder.

"She's one tough cookie," Lucius responded stroking his son's hair and wrapping a protective arm around his shoulder.

"They haven't caused her any serious injury have they?"

"Do you think I would let them hurt her?"

"Of course not," Draco sighed, his worrying mind not appeased by his father's response. He was no longer a child and he knew that his father was powerless to stop the Death Eaters doing as they pleased to his mother.

"Listen Draco, I am not allowed to stay, I simply have a message for you to hurry up from the dark lord, he is impatient and I can only protect your mother for so long," Lucius pulled his son into a hug and stood up dusting off his own tattered robes.

"Will I see you again?" Draco looked up at his father in earnest worry and grief obvious over his features. Lucius looked down at his son and remembered playing hide and seek with him as a little boy. He had always been so adventurous and mischievous, he was able to hide for long periods of time causing his parents to fret about the where abouts of their only child.

"I don't know my son, but promise me, no matter what be brave, every thing will turn out as it should." With these words of wisdom Lucius Malfoy turned and exited the room without further delay, leaving his son more worried than before.

Hermione cloaked in deep crimson and dark of night hurried out of her apartment towards Hogwarts. Dressed similar to little red riding hood, a basket laden with food under her arm, she made her way through the drizzling rain. Her plan was not as well thought out as she hoped to but she figured that she would have to make a serious effort to make amends after such a dreadful argument. It was cold outside and she wished she had been able to take the floo network but unfortunately when she tried her attempts had failed horribly. She had been unable to find the golden gates, where she presumed he had gone and she could not quite remember where in Hogwarts the room was hidden as she had only once walked there by foot.

As she reached the doors of the main entrance she looked quickly behind her, pulling off her hood as she entered the large castle. Hogwarts at night was now deserted as the head master was no longer there to protect the students, those who parents had not allowed them to drop out let them stay in the Leaky Cauldron so they commuted in large numbers to their classes. They rarely spent time in the castle as it was partially ruined and most of the facilities were uselessly incapacitated. The students only congregated near their classrooms and the great hall which had miraculously remained unaffected. The house elves remained in the castle but stayed in the kitchens as much as possible for fear of capture. Hermione could hear the werewolves howling in the dark forest and the noise alone sent a violent shiver down her spine. She hurried up the grand staircase and made her way to the stairs that would lead her to her destination. She had to light her wand to see anything as Hogwarts now left practically abandoned, was shrouded in darkness lit only occasionally by the lightening storm playing fiercely outside the castle walls.

The dark, unknown surroundings worried Hermione as she was left unaware of what horrible frightening things were lurking in the darkness. As she made her way up the moving staircase she got a creepy feeling that someone or something was following closely behind her but every time she turned around and held up her wand she was greeted only with further darkness. She swore she could hear footsteps in the darkness, her breath she could hear was coming out in short gasps as she steadily climbed upwards and onwards. She was full of fear as she passed familiar places where she had once felt safe she was now petrified of what lay behind and what could be in front of her.

She had just passed the library and was heading up when she recognised the familiar floor and she knew she was not far from the gates of Elysium now and not far from the safety of her friend. Just as she was walking as quickly as she could towards the room she noticed something or someone hurrying towards her. Before she could cry out and warn the on comer of her existence or duck out of the way of the speeding hoon she was knocked to the ground where everything had become black.

**A/N:**

I got NO reviews for the last chapter one i was really quite proud of! There fore i have no one to really thank in this chapter!!! Okay so to the people who do read this I appriciate it BUT LEAVE A REVIEW WOULD YA!!!!

The next chapter really gets the ball rolling on the whole Hermione and Draco thing so keep reading and let me know what you think and give me any ideas as i am always open to ideas...

Much Love

Perfect Butterfly Blade


	10. Blissfully unaware

Chapter Ten

Draco paced worriedly as Hermione tossed and turned bumping her head constantly on the hard stone floor, instead of laying peaceably still on the cloak Draco had stuck underneath it to prevent such a thing happening. He wrung his hands together and worried he hoped needlessly. It had been some time since he had found her in the corridor out like a light. He had come across her by chance when he had slipped out to steal something from the kitchen. His hunger apparating immediately upon seeing her, he picked her up and took her into the secret room where he was fulfilling his mission assigned by the great Dumbledore himself. Upon laying her down as gently as he could lay down a fully grown woman she began to toss and turn uncontrollably. He had tried to restrain her from hurting herself but to no avail and she had continued to thrash beyond his control. He had resigned himself to leaving a cloak under her head, rolling her on her side and trying to patiently wait out her fit.

Hermione felt as light as air, in fact when she gained enough courage she found herself like a bird floating in mid-air looking down upon a bloody battle. Above her a moon the colour of grass below, covered in congealed and fresh blood, loomed in the velvet cloak of the sky amongst the glittering silver stars. She almost felt poetic how the stars looked so much like the corpses that littered the ground before suddenly feeling nauseous at the horrible prospect of it all. She felt now powerless to help the people below, curses flying, lighting up the scene below like little green flamed candles, before they burst on the chest of their victims dying like a shooting star. Hermione felt like a puppet, strung up in the middle of nowhere, with full control over her appendages but unable to descend any lower. Then in an instant, as though someone had cut those strings, she began to rapidly descend towards the earth and the scene she had been watching earlier. She flailed her arms trying, unsuccessfully to ascend upwards to avoid her own, what appeared to be imminent, fate.

Just before she hit the ground there was a bright flash of light and Hermione found herself now flying as though she were a bird, gone was the bloody scene below and now it had been replaced by a blue sky and a golden sun warming her skin. When she looked below her she could see green grass and people going about their daily business cheerfully greeting one another like little ants building their colony. People were cheerful and pleasant to one another, not in fear of danger as things have been since the death of the schools most respected principal. She flew over what appeared to be a carnival in Hogsmede, people were raising flagons of brew towards one another. There was no violence displayed in this wonderful scene only peace, harmony and happiness.

After seeing that human kind as she knew it below her was safe, and only then that she dared to take a glimpse at what was by her side. In her previous vision she had been alone in the dark sky but now she was not as alone as she first thought she was. Shimmering in the golden sunlight was a head of pale white hair, the pale face turned towards her and smiled in her direction.

"We did it," Draco said in her dream taking her hand in his own and flying lower to inspect the cheerful scene.

"Did what?" Hermione asked quizzically unsure what he could possibly mean by this.

"The blood of the innocent will be lost when there is a loss of innocence itself," he answered confusing her further. Why must everything be in riddles she perplexed to herself.

"What do you mean? Is what I saw previously the future? Is this the future? What does it mean?" she pleaded trying to figure out this crazy dream of hers.

"Either a moon of blood or a sun of gold will rise, the future depends on you Hermione, the future depends on us. Action must be taken swiftly."

"On us?" She went to ask but some how he had gone, vanished into the thin air.

Hermione sat upright quickly her blood rushing to her head causing a slight headache, a sense of light-headedness and an overwhelming sense of nausea. Despite the darkness of the room lit only by a small fire in the fireplace, her eyes tingled savagely and were filled with brightly coloured dots. Before she could recover on her own a more than worried Draco was by her side holding her gently, one arm supporting her back and the other gently removing wet brown locks from her face, plastered there with her own sweat. She tried to speak but he hushed her gently lifting a glass of cool water to her lips that he had acquired while she was out cold herself which she drank thirstily not realising her own need for water before it had been offered to her.

Draco felt cold when she first looked at him. Her eyes seemed set deeper in her face and under them were dark bags that were not there before. It looked as though her unpeaceful slumber had taken many years from her. He could see the worry in her face and feel her clinging to him tightly.

"What did you mean?" She asked him croakily after drinking a few gulps of water. Draco was perplexed by her words and was more than unsure of how to go about answering her inquiry.

"I-I don't understand," he stuttered in reply. He wished he had not said a word after he answered her as he saw her face fall in defeat at his words.

"I'll never figure it out in time," she muttered to herself concerning him further. She was speaking in riddles as he had in her dream. On her awakening though she had an instinct that told her that it was more than just a dream. Draco had told her to be swift in her action but she was unsure how to go about solving the puzzle. She knew it involved her and Draco but that was all she could decipher of the code given to her in her dreams.

She shook her head softly emptying all the clutter that filled it so she could remember the reason for her coming here in the first place. She stuck her hand out to try and find the basket she had bought along with her only to find it missing. She looked around in the half light but her basket was no where to be seen.

"My basket," she said partially to herself and partially to her present company. Draco hit himself gently on the forehead for forgetting to notice if she had any belongings with her when he had found her and also for missing it when he went to the kitchens to fetch water and a small supply of food.

After shushing her gently, laying her back down and reassuring her of her safety, he made his way back out to the corridor where he instantly spotted the basket he had missed previously, not once but twice. The top was covered with a red and black tartan blanket and inside there were containers of food, along with a small stack of plastic picnic plates, a few matching cups, assorted plastic cutlery, candles, matches and bottles of butter beer. She had obviously been planning a picnic for the pair of them. Draco snatched up the basket and hurried back into his private sanctuary to find Hermione napping peacefully this time. It was then he was struck with a devious idea that was not so much devious or cunning as it was sweet and sincere. Unfortunately now his actions always had to have split ulterior motives behind them, due to his perilous mission set to him by the dark lord but also due to his affection for the woman he was sent after by the heir.

Hermione came too all alone again in a dimly lit room. She recognised where she was after a few dazed minutes and wondered curiously how she had gotten there. The last she could remember she was playing a captain on a pirate ship floating on a clear river in the middle of a desert. She shook her her head realising she had only been dreaming about the pirate ship, bringing her spirits down a little as she was quite intrigued by the idea of pirates and occasionally dreamed of life as captain of a ship feared in all the seven seas. She heard a door creak open behind her and a slimmer of pale light cast itself across the floor where she now was sitting, opposed to when she had previously been lying down.

In the door way stood and handsome figure that made Hermione's heart beat quickly. Dressed as always in a white linen shirt and a pair of cotton slacks was a blonde haired man with blue eyes and a face as pale as his white hair. He had almost a look of royal pomposity on his face and also looked remarkably clean for someone in his fugitive state. His shoulders were wrapped in a heavy grey cloak and his feet, normally bare now had a pair of softly worn leather shoes on them. He sauntered sexily over to Hermione and lifted her from the ground and into his arms in one smooth gesture. Hermione made no objections to her predicament, part of her did not have the strength to oppose the handsome rouge and the other part of her did not want to. Draco, still awkwardly holding Hermione bent down and retrieved her red wool cloak from the ground, dusted it off and placed it delicately around her shoulders. Hermione giggled like a school girl into her hands when Draco offered his arm to her like a gentleman escorting a lady. She took his arm and they, without a word left the dimly lit room behind them.

Draco, with months of observation and sneaking around led them swiftly through the maze of the castle until they, themselves were outside. He led Hermione past the Herbology green houses and around the Whomping Willow to sit beside the deserted lake. The sky above had cleared slightly to give them a brief glimpse of the lonely moon and the sparkling stars before the clouds swept them back into hiding. In front of them was the tartan blanket Hermione had brought along with her. Above them two candles lingered playing gracefully as they bobbed around in the cool, damp air. On the blanket a vast spread of food was lain before them. Draco lowered Hermione gently onto the blanket before plonking himself down with a vast lack of grace causing Hermione to giggle once again.

In the shadows two figures lurked. One observing the scene with great relish pleased that his plan was going accordingly, the other pleased that things were going on schedule. One of the mysterious observers ruby tinted eyes shone maliciously at the great evil he thought was under foot. His little puppet was doing exactly **as** he asked of him. The other, his pale hair tied up and masked under a cloak as black as night, eyes twinkled with delight, he could see the pair blossoming romantically under a lovers sky. Both figures pleased with what they saw turned and disappeared into nothingness, without even so much as a 'pop' to signify their presence and disappearance, as a soft rain began to drizzle over the two lovers dining, they continued to do so as if nothing was amiss in the world at all. Hoping beyond all hope that the sense of normalcy and euphoric happiness they were feeling would never come to cease.

**A/N:**

**my sincere thanks to Satan in pink who is the only person who reviewed the last chapter**

**thanks to marmaldefever for pointing out my faults, everyone likes that, I'm curious as to if you read till the end or not, **

**told you the ball got rolling, loving this story keep reviewing, I'll keep on writing anyway as i have started to write more for my own pleasure AS NO ONE IS NICE ENOUGH TO REVIEW IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE!!!**

**anyway happy readings and i hope you enjoyed I'm sorry it took so long my computer is a dinosaur living in the ice age and i got a stupid virus in the registry and my dad downloaded a registry cleaner and most of them are viruses, but this is a text document and is unaffected so don't stress!**

**Lotsa love**

**Perfect butterfly blade**


	11. Authors Note

ahoy there my lovely readers!

I am so sorry to do this but my daughter is due any week now and so i have troubles sitting at the computer and concentrating... I am not finished writing and there is so much for me to do...so while you wait dont forget to check out my other stories... For you to notice me is finished where as I wanna grow old with you is still a work in progress...(which is proving to be quite popular)

Thank you so much for reading guys and i look forward to finishing this for you! I really love this story alot so I promise i will get onto it soon! For any queries you may have you can e-mail me on love

Perfect Butterfly Blade


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